Do We Have to Accommodate Stupid People?

I have to admit that I was at least partly inspired to write this post after witnessing the terrible driving that goes on when it starts to snow. Let's make this clear, people--when it's snowing, you don't have to drive like a grandma, and you don't need to drive like a maniac. This is one of those instances where there really is a happy medium--it's also known as cautious, defensive driving.

Seriously though, I was reading this article over the weekend and really got to thinking about how much influence uneducated, uninformed people have on our day-to-day lives and how much their ignorance is accommodated.

For example, I haven't talked about it yet on the blog, but I recently bought a brand new Ford Fusion hybrid. It's an amazing car and quite frankly, I am a little bit obsessed with it (I named her Hydi, but that's for another post). As you've probably heard, Toyota has issued a recall for its 3rd generation Prius after it developed issues with its brakes. While reading about this online, I found another article discussing that Ford was recalling some of their Fusion and Milan hybrids. Naturally, I was concerned, but as I read the article, I quickly discovered that there was nothing actually wrong with the brakes. Instead, when the car switches from the regenerative braking system (the part that makes it a hybrid) to conventional hydraulic braking, the brake pedal "drops," which causes "some people [to] perceive that condition as a loss of brakes." I've felt this shift in the brake pedal. It doesn't drop. And remember, if you keep the brake pedal depressed (like you usually would when you're braking), you maintain full braking capability. Apparently, this all started when a Consumer Reports engineer was test-driving a Fusion hybrid, felt the brake pedal "drop," thought the brakes were failing, and for some inexplicable reason, then released the brake pedal and drove through a stop sign. So now Ford is offering to fix the "problem," which is NOT an actual problem. And we're back to accommodating stupid people. When does it stop?